The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
In conventional database systems, users access their data resources in one logical database. A user of such a conventional system typically retrieves data from and stores data on the system using the user's own systems. A user system might remotely access one of a plurality of server systems that might in turn access the database system. Data retrieval from the system might include the issuance of a query from the user system to the database system. The database system might process the request for information received in the query and send to the user system information relevant to the request.
There is often a desire to allow users to edit data in the foregoing database frameworks. To date, such data is often locked in the database systems, while a user edits the same. The purpose of such locking is to prevent another user from editing the same data at the same time. Unfortunately, such locking technique exhibits limitations, particularly if the data is being accessed remotely over a long period of time. For instance, if the data is being edited utilizing a web page, any edits may not be returned for a lengthy amount of time. It may thus be unacceptable or problematic for locking such data for such extended periods of time.